This will be a build thread of the model C. Got experience with building FPV drones, but searched for a new challenge. ROV's it was. But after doing some research, it's way more expensive then I expected, or the rov was very low tech, untill I came across the Blue Dot website. I love the design Costas put down here and I think he deserves a lot of credit for putting his afford in the design. In my opinion the Model C is looking good (very important if submerged), assembly not very difficult and 3D printed! When fully build, I want to add a gripper, so I can use that to pick up small objects or drop a magnet/hook onto objects. I will use the drone to get familiar with "underwater operations". I'm very interested in history, in my country we have al lot of water and a lot of "sunken villages" and ww2 objects under water. Really like to explore all of that.
Sinds I'm from Europe (Netherlands), collecting hardware is sometimes a little hard, because Amazon uses high shipping costs. I will update the progress I made in this thread.
All the hardware is in order, mostly aliexpress and local stores. I received the STL files and started printing. First thing I saw was that the dimensions were off in Cura. But saw an earlier post, that small parts had to be scaled up x10 and huge parts needed to be scaled down by x0.1. Also there was an update for the faceplate. It now has some distance keeper things for distance to the dome.
I saw the update for a compass, so i will include it directly into the build.
I will update the progress I made in this thread. Picture will follow!
Quint
Hey. Costas
The built was on pause, because I had to wait, for parts to arrive from China. Everything works! But had some problems with fitting everything in the dome. So I chose an alternative way to connect everything. I didn't use connectors but soldered all the wires. That way I have space enough.
Yesterday I put it into the bathtub test......All the electronics kept dry! I mounted the propellors wrong, so it did all the directions inverted. But that will be sorted out.
Also I have to check the wiring, because when the ads is connected to the balance lead of the battery it gives a signal to the raspberry pi and the camera. I can't connect to the wifi. With the balance lead not in place, it works fine, only no voltage is displayed. So I have to sort that one out.
Thanks for the thoughtful post quint! I gotta admit, your paint job is a lot nicer than mine usually turn out! I have a couple of questions about your build... first, have you made any progress? I hope you got the domes, those are usually the hardest parts to source in my experience.
Also, have you been able to test the cradle? If you have a mini router, you should be able to at least view the cockpit feed and test the camera tilt. By the way, I use 9 gram servos in all the kits I sell here. They won’t lift a truck, but they’re plenty of torque for the little Pi cam.
Really nice work, hope all is well
-Costas
Thank you for the well said post. Im also in middle of printing my Blue Rot. Thanks so much again for Costas design.
Got all parts printed
Testfitted everything
Cradle is almost complete
Now I need to wait for the picam, domes and motor to arrive. I used m3 and m4 screws, because imperial sizes are not common here. Also waiting for the compass. Now printing a simple gripper. Planning to use a waterproofed 9gr servo. Not many torque but it will be just a test.